Sunday, June 12, 2011

According to today’s Taipei Times, the USA State Department has declare my island (and me to be part of Mainland China)! How would you feel if you were dislocated from Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China–and no one even wrote you a letter?

Here is the exact quote from the Taipei Times: “[T] newly exposed visa regulations in US immigration policy maintain that Kinmen and Matsu [archipelagos] are part of China’s Fujian Province, a merciless slap in the face for Ma [the current president of Taiwan.”

It’s certainly much more than a slap in the face to the president of Taiwan–it is a slap in the face to all Taiwanese and all residents of Lienchiang County, where Matsu Islands are located, and the people of Kinman. Neither peoples, by the way, have held a referendum to rejoin Mainland China.

Recently, a neighboring Matsu resident here in Taiwan had had the very U.S. visa (he’d already been waiting 10-plus months for already) denied or delayed.

At the time, it wasn’t clear to me why the young man would have to wait another year to apply again to rejoin his grandparents in the U.S.A.–however, now with the previously secret new U.S. visa or immigration regulations suddenly in place declaring the Matsu (Island) archipelago part of the neighboring Fujian Province of the People’s Republic, I understand the delay in the young man’s visa.

Yet, neither did the USA State Department bother to tell me I was suddenly living in the People’s Republic of China–this is simple bureaucratic steamrolling over a people caught between the two China’s and America’s desire to please the biggest China.

The world should be in outrage over this new belief and policy or code by a U.S. government agency (INS)–i.e. overturning U.S. and Taiwan agreements sanctioned by the U.S. congress and in effect since the 1970s–which recognized all of Taiwan as a country separate from China.

Luckily, so far, no Red Chinese gunboats have come over to show their full agreement with the USA NIS officials. Matsu is still primarily fully functioning as part of Taiwan–whether the State Department or NIS recognize that fact or not.